Chuichi Hara

Chuichi Hara (15 March 1889-17 February 1964) was a Vice-Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Nicknamed "King Kong", he commanded the carriers Zuikaku and Shokaku at the Battle of the Coral Sea and fought in the Solomon Islands campaign before leading the Truk garrison from 1944 to September 1945.

Biography
Chuichi Hara was born on 15 March 1889 in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1911 and rose in the ranks during peacetime, being promoted to Lt. Commander in 1924 after graduating from the Naval Staff College. On 15 November 1939, he was promoted to Rear Admiral, and he commanded the aircraft carriers Zuikaku and Shokaku during World War II. These two carriers would be heavily damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea, and they would be out of service until the Solomon Islands campaign, fighting at the Battle of Santa Cruz and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. In 1944, he was sent to take command of the garrison of Truk, and he surrendered to the United States on 2 September 1945 at the end of the war. He died in his home in Tokyo in 1964.